“For a long time, our inspections have looked hardest at outcomes, placing too much weight on test and exam results when we consider the overall effectiveness of schools,” she said.

“The cumulative impact of performance tables and inspections, and the consequences that are hung on them, has increased the pressure on school leaders, teachers and indirectly on pupils to deliver perfect data above all else.

“But we know that focusing too narrowly on test and exam results can often leave little time or energy for hard thinking about the curriculum, and in fact can sometimes end up making a casualty of it.

“The bottom line is that we must make sure that we, as an inspectorate, complement rather than intensify performance data.”

She suggested teachers have been reduced to “data managers” rather than being treated as “experts in their field”.

New judgements

“I don’t know a single teacher who went into teaching to get the perfect Progress 8 score [a measure of pupil progress].

“They go into it because they love what they teach and want children to love it too,” said the chief inspector.

The biggest planned change to the inspection framework is that the section based on “pupil outcomes” (exam results) is likely to be replaced with a new judgement for “quality of education”.

But there are also changes planned for the other categories.

The new planned judgement headings are:

personal development

behaviour and attitudes

schools’ leadership and management.

The four categories currently used for Ofsted inspections are:

effectiveness of leadership and management

quality of teaching, learning and assessment

personal development, behaviour and welfare

outcomes for children and learners.

Ofsted will launch a consultation on the new set of inspection categories in a new framework in January, in the hope of starting to use them at the start of the school year in September 2019.

Nick Brook, deputy leader of the National Association of Head Teachers, said a new approach to inspection is “long overdue”.

“What concerns us is that Ofsted’s new framework is due to be implemented in less than 12 months’ time and it has not left itself enough time to introduce change of the magnitude that’s being suggested.

“There’s a real risk that not all schools will understand it and not all inspectors will apply it consistently.”

Related Articles

Image caption Hadlow College was brought back from the brink of closure in 2002 A struggling college has requested to be put into educational administration, in the first application of its kind. The Hadlow Group, which runs Hadlow College in Kent, is being investigated over financial irregularities. If the request is granted next week, the […]

Image copyright PAImage caption Campaigners said schools should not be asking about pupils’ nationality Privacy campaigners say the Department for Education is to drop the controversial requirement for schools in England to collect data about pupils’ nationality. The Against Borders for Children protest group had warned the information could be used to check on the […]

School notice boards are a hidden fire hazard because they are often made of flammable material, an MP has warned. “Notice boards can be set on fire very quickly, and they will burn,” Labour’s David Drew told MPs. He claimed some boards are made of materials that are also sold as firelighters. He called on […]